Former senator and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who may be making moves toward the White House yet again, turned his back on Sen. Rand Paul and said the Kentuckian doesn’t stand a chance of winning the nation’s high executive seat under the GOP umbrella.
“The Republican Party is not a Libertarian party,” said Mr. Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, during a Monday night appearance on “Crossfire” on CNN. He added that few in the Republican Party would be influenced by Mr. Paul’s message of small and limited governance, The Daily Caller reported.
Rather, he said, Republicans need a “positive agenda” to win in 2014 and again in 2016.
CNN’s Van Jones pressed for Mr. Santorum to address the claims of some who said Mr. Paul has emerged as the “new face of the Republican Party,” The Daily Caller said.
“Well … he’s not my leader, I can tell you that for sure,” Mr. Santorum said. “His father and I had some disagreements during the last campaign.”
Mr. Santorum also said he didn’t think Mr. Paul could win the nomination — because “the Republican Party is not a Libertarian party. It is a conservative party. And it will nominate a conservative and not a Libertarian.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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